It can be extremely nerve-racking knowing you have to ballroom dance when you don’t know how. If you don’t know how to ballroom dance, you can fake it until you make it. Maybe you’ll end up learning a few things about it in the process.

Get the correct posture. Hold your head up and have your chin parallel to the floor, with your neck slightly stretched. When you move your legs make sure your hips and feet do not shift. Your body weight should be a little forward on the middle of your feet (between the heel and ball of your foot). [1]XResearch source

Learn the basic position. The closed position is the basic ballroom dance position. Traditionally ballroom dancing is a man and a woman, but you can dance with whoever you want. The woman and the man stand facing each other and are slightly offset to the left. The man puts his left hand in the woman’s right hand. The man puts his right hand on the woman’s back while the woman puts her left hand on the man’s upper arm.

Learn the box step for dancing waltz. You will know if everyone is dancing waltz if you can identify strong sets of six in the music when you count along to the song playing. The box step is the most common waltz step. Once you know this you can at least pretend like you know what you are doing. The goal of the box step is to make a box with you and your partner's feet.

The leader (traditionally the man): Left foot forward, right foot side, left foot close, right foot back, left foot side, right foot close

The follower (traditionally the woman): Right foot back, left food side, right food close, left food forward, right foot side, left food close [2]XResearch source

Learn the side step for dances besides waltz. If you are dancing in sets of eight, instead of six like the waltz, you can do the basic side step. Step to the left with your left food. Move your right foot to the left and bring it together with your left foot. Then move your left foot further to the left and bring your right foot towards it again and touch. The pattern is side-together-side-touch. Then repeat moving your feet toward the right.

Show up to the dance. It seems silly, but you can’t fake ballroom dancing ability if you don’t even show up. No matter how nervous you are about the dancing event, you should go. Going onto the dance floor is also going to take some courage, but just remember that it is just dancing and that you can do it. [3]XResearch source

Look confident and relax. You will look worse if you look uncomfortable and embarrassed that you cannot dance. Don’t worry about the mistakes you will make. Act like you know what you are doing and people will think that you do. [4]XResearch source Try to relax. It might be hard to relax when you are just a beginner but you will look stiff and awkward if you have tension. [5]XResearch source

Make eye contact and talk to your partner. Make light conversation and even crack a few jokes while you are dancing. Don’t take it too seriously! [6]XResearch source

Choose the right partner. There are multiple possibilities to why you might be faking your ballroom dancing ability. No matter your reason for faking your dancing ability, it will help if your partner is someone you are comfortable with. Choose a partner who you know well and feel comfortable messing up in front of.

If your partner is a good dancer, you can just follow what they do. If they are the leader this is especially easy. Just relax and follow their lead and you will look like you know what you are doing too.

If you and your partner both don’t know how to dance and want to pretend like you do, just relax and try to help each other. Keep things simple and go along with whatever mistakes happen.

Copy the people around you. Look and see what the people around you are doing and copy them. This will help you find a rhythm and pick up on other people’s moves. Just look like you know what you are doing and give a new move a try. [7]XResearch source

Be gentle and polite. Don’t tug on your partner too hard, especially if you are the leader. If you are turning the follower or moving them around, don’t be aggressive about it. Be polite to your partner, especially if you don’t know them well. [8]XResearch source

Look like you are enjoying yourself. Even if you are internally stressed about the whole thing, look like you are enjoying yourself. Smile through it all and just relax and try to have fun. Do your best; it's unlikely that anyone else will even notice if you do make a mistake. [9]XResearch source

Make eye contact with your partner. Pretend like you are in love with them to help you look more convincing. [10]XResearch source

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Community Q&A

If it's a part of the dance, or if he likes you, he will place his hand on your hips while you're dancing. If he doesn't, he may be trying to respect your boundaries. In this case, if you want him to place his hands on your hips, let him know.